Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at 2:15 pm on 4 October 2017.
Joyce, you’re absolutely right. It should not be the job of headteachers to be spending their time trying to source paper or toilet rolls, managing cleaning contracts, or trying to deal with issues around the building or the IT. We need those professional people to focus on teaching and learning, developing the curriculum, and supporting their staff to deliver outstanding experiences and lessons for their children. That’s why, you’re quite right, recently we have launched a pilot, and I’m very pleased to say both Powys and Carmarthenshire councils have been awarded funding from the Welsh Government towards recruiting school business managers for mainly primary school clusters in their local areas. This will involve a total of over 30 schools in both Powys and Carmarthenshire, and business managers are currently in the process of being appointed and should be in place later on this year.